Achieving the American Dream: The Career of John Augustus Nyden, 1895-1932

ACHIEVING THE AMERICAN DREAM: THE CAREER OF JOHN AUGUSTUS NYDEN, 1895-1932
BRADLEY SKELCHER
John Augustus Nyden immigrated from Sweden to the United States in order to pursue his dream of becoming a master builder. Once in America, he succeeded far beyond Ms expectations; he became a leading architect and made many significant contributions especially to the Chicago area. In order to do this, he followed the accepted path toward upward mobility for immigrants in America at the turn of the century; he learned English and a trade. Of equal importance at this time, he conformed to traditional American values: hard work, modesty, punctuality, sobriety, frugality, and charity. Above all, he was a faithful man; he devoted his life to his family and the Church. While conforming to American standards, however, he never broke the bonds with his homeland or with his proudly maintained Swedish heritage.
Over the years, Nyden and his work have largely fallen into obscurity. This circumstance renders the perception that both were unimportant. All the same, his life and work in America were significant, because he was representative of most immigrants—and for that matter most middle-class Americans of his day. His life and work provide important clues as to the lives of "undistinguished" people who lived during the early 1900s. This article is the result of initial findings, the ultimate aim of which is a forthcoming book on the life and work of John A. Nyden.
In 1895 at the age of 16, Nyden arrived in Chicago. He came from the province of Småland, Sweden, joining thousands of others who left what then was an impoverished area. Like so many other immigrants who came to the Land of Promise, he set a course aimed at achieving the American Dream. Unlike some of his fellow immigrants, Nyden did indeed achieve his aspirations and thereby tried to set an example for others to follow. That is, by assimilation, his fellow Swedish immigrants could also attain their dreams. He believed that one could become an American and still preserve one's Swedish cultural heritage.1
Ironically, when Nyden died at the age of 54 in 1932, there were doubts as to whether he had achieved what he sought. His financial status at the time of his death is still unclear. Most likely he was then experiencing financial difficulties, as were so many others at the onset of the Great Depression. Obviously, he died without the recognition Ms family thought he deserved, as his daughter Valborg painfully testified following his death:
It is indeed quite [remarkable] how easily a man is forgotten after his death, even if he has contributed [considerably] to the world. During the whole tercentenary campaign [to commemo­rate
the first Swedish colony in America] Father's name was never mentioned, not even as the architect of the [American Swedish Historical] Museum [in Philadelphia]. So just before the big celebration, a well-known Swedish man, living near Stockholm, Sweden, wrote directly to the Crown Prince about the above.2
A bronze plaque of John Augustus Nyden in the
American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia. (Courtesy of Bradley Skelcher.)
In and of itself, the story of John A. Nyden is probably insignifi­cant.
Placed in the context of immigration history, however, his biography sheds. light on the Swedish immigrant experience in America and, in particular, Chicago. It shows how an immigrant group seeking the American Dream aspired to establish itself within American culture. Yet, its constituents also wanted to remain separated from the new setting, clinging to a familiar past. If nothing more, these people wanted to maintain cultural links with Sweden.
As an architect and developer, Nyden played a significant role in building a Swedish-American community on the north side of Chicago and in the adjacent suburbs. This part of town was similar to other neighborhoods in the city; it was highly segregated. This was nowise unusual for immigrant groups, who created ethnic enclaves for mutual support and to preserve their Old World cultures. Nyden helped to establish and nurture institutions that reinforced this kind of separation. At the same time, he encouraged his fellow Swedes to assimilate by following the accepted paths to upward mobility. For Nyden, this meant hard work, education, diligence, fidelity, and above all sobriety. To be sure, he held these values long before arriving in Chicago, and they were reflected in his strong religious beliefs.3
Nyden was bom on 25 March 1878 at Nybygget in Moheda parish, Kronobergs län, about twenty kilometers northwest of Växjö. He had three siblings, two of whom died in infancy. In 1895 he changed his name from Johan Augustus Carlsson to John Augustus Nyden. He derived his surname from his birthplace, Nybygget (his first name was also that of his brother Johan Walfred, who died in infancy). His father was Carl Gustaf Johansson and his mother, Maria Daniels­dotter
Humble. She died in 1889, leaving his maternal grandmother Maja Lisa Humble to raise him. She was responsible for his religious upbringing.4
Nyden was born into a family of craftspeople. His father was a contractor and a mason, but poor economic conditions in Sweden had forced him to work as a farm laborer. It was from his father that Nyden learned the construction trade of masonry. Little documenta­tion
of his early life remains, but Nyden did report that at the age of 12 he built a two-room house. At this time, Nyden recalled, he decided to become an architect, a choice that won his father's approval and encouragement. Nyden studied architectural plans that his father borrowed from building contractors. He also borrowed books and plans from a library in Växjö. This was the extent of his architectural background before he reached the United States. In 1895, then, Nyden made the monumental decision to leave Sweden and pursue his dream in America. Lamenting Ms son's departure, his father prophetically said to him, "I guess this will be the last time we will ever see each other, as I will not live very long." Nyden never saw Ms father again.5
That same year, Nyden arrived in Chicago via Quebec, Canada, one of the ports of entry for Swedish immigrants. Reaching his destination, he moved into his cousin John E. Mohlin's home. This was a common occurrence in the immigration experience, step or stage migration. Family members or friends often supported new immigrants in the process of transition. He also joined the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church of Lake View; churches were another important source of support for newly arrived immigrants.6
Nyden had followed a path well traveled by other Scandinavians. Between 1851 and 1930, about 1.25 million of them were Swedish immigrants. Almost 85 percent of them were 35 years old or younger. A great many of the Swedish immigrants settled within urban areas, and Chicago was the primary destination for most. By the first decade of the twentieth century more people of Swedish descent lived in Chicago than anywhere else outside of Sweden. In part, Swedish immigration to Chicago helped contribute to the city's population explosion. This in turn stimulated the needs for more housing and for people with building skills such as the ones Nyden possessed.7
During the late nineteenth century, Chicago attracted thousands of immigrants. By the end of the century its population had grown to 1,768,000. This made it the second largest city in the United States. To some extent the rapid growth of its population at this time had been a result of annexation of the immediate suburbs, but immigra­tion
had been the chief factor at work here. This dramatic increase in population spurned the growth of the construction industry, in which several Swedish Americans were participants. It emerged as a lucrative business, especially for residential builders. The Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad opened the northern areas to development, but it was not until 1909 when Daniel H. Burnham completed the Michigan Avenue Bridge that the north side began to attract businesses and residents in large numbers.8
These areas were now settled by the growing middle class, many of whom were of Swedish descent. This naturally enabled numerous skilled builders within the Swedish community to participate in the growing construction industry. Lars Gustaf Hallberg, the first of the renowned builders of Swedish descent, arrived after the Chicago Fire of 1871. He was among the first to use reinforced concrete in his structures. After Hallberg, others followed such as Nils Persson Severin, Henry and John E. Ericsson, Louis M. Nelson, Adolph Lindström, Eric P. Strandberg, and E. C. Carlson. Probably the most famous builder among these early ones was Andrew Lanquist of Lanquist & Illsley, the firm that constructed the first skyscraper in Chicago, the Monon Building.9
Along with the rapid population growth and the subsequent need for new construction, there was a demand for labor. This especially held true for bricklayers and their assistants. After the Chicago Fire of 1871, ordinances required the construction of fireproof buildings; brick structures complied with the regulations. Thus it was no accident that Nyden was first employed in America working as a bricklayer. He found a job in Winnetka, just north of Chicago. There he took part in the construction of New Trier High School. This required hours that were long and hard. Twelve-hour days were not unusual at the turn of the century for American workers.10
Upon completing his arduous workdays, Nyden nevertheless managed to continue his education along with many of his immigrant cohorts. After work, he attended classes at the Emigrants' Evening School in Chicago. Most of these sessions focused on language education. They also facilitated immigrants from rural agrarian societies to make the transition to an urban industrial one. Within three years, he completed grammar and high school and then went to Columbia Trade School, also in Chicago. Clearly, Nyden made rapid progress in adapting to his new American life."
At the Emigrants' Evening School, John met a classmate who later became his wife. Her name was Alma Ottilia Hemmingsson and she, too, was from Småland. Ottilia was born on 13 March 1874 at Löv­udden
in Kristdala parish, Kalmar län, about twenty kilometers from the port city of Oskarshamn. Her parents were Sven Peter Hem­mingsson
and Kajsa Lisa Carlsdotter. Sven Peter served as nämdeman (assessor) of the Ishult Courthouse for fifteen years. He then became supervisor of public works in the district. He also served as a trustee of the Kristdala church. Her mother was a descendant of the noble families Bagge af Berga and Sabelsköld. She also traced her lineage to the Meurling family of clergymen.12 Arriving in America the same year as Nyden, Ottilia joined her sister Hilda in Chicago. Like many other Swedish immigrant women, Ottilia found work as a seamstress. 57 percent of Swedish immigrant women were domestics, while the others were generally seamstresses. After this Job, she took a position as both governess and dressmaker. Her evenings were spent attend­ing
language classes, where she met Nyden, her husband-to-be.13
Following the completion of his basic education in 1898, Nyden attended Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute in Valparaiso, Indiana (the forerunner of Valparaiso University). He enrolled in the Preparatory Department, which offered ten-week terms. Records of his studies there are scant, but they do show that he attended three such terms, that is, until 1899. The curriculum consisted of preparatory classes similar to a community college's offerings today. There was heavy emphasis on English. He did not neglect, however, the study of architecture. Apparently, Nyden required additional preparation beyond the high-school level before enrolling in regular college courses.14
After completing his studies at Valparaiso, Nyden began pursuing a career in the construction industry. He took a position with the George A. Fuller Company, a contracting firm in New York City. It appears that he worked as a drafter. Because of Ms short stay, this was most likely an apprenticeship and part of his practical training. This was commonplace for individuals entering the professions of construction engineering and architecture at the time. He stayed there for only a year before permanently relocating in Chicago.15 Nyden now matriculated at the school of the Art Institute of Chicago, expressly to study architecture. He worked simultaneously as the chief drafter for the Northwestern Terra Cotta Company, a job he held for six years. At this time, the preeminent architects in Chicago were also associated with the Art Institute. Nyden's experiences under their tutelage influenced his own building style, a revival of the Gothic one, but placed in a contemporary context.16
Most influential in the 1890s was Louis Sullivan, who developed the Chicago style of architecture, much of which had roots in the École, taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where Sullivan had studied. Once in Chicago, he combined it with Classical and Gothic traditions. Sullivan maintained that he was merging the intellectual driving force of the Classical tradition with the emotional strength of its Gothic counterpart. In combining them, he infused a dynamic motion into his skyscrapers.17 Ralph Adams Cram of the firm Cram and Goodhue was also influential. He considered the Gothic tradition of northern Europe to constitute the most important style and set out on a mission to revive it in American architecture. He apparently succeeded in accomplishing this mission, especially on the north side of Chicago and in the adjacent suburbs. Frank Lloyd Wright agreed with Cram. He spent long hours at the Art Institute lecturing on the use of the Gothic style. For Wright, it was truly organic architecture.18
The standard architectural education at the Art Institute also emphasized drawing skills, stressing proficiency in the use of pencil, pen, and brush. The school required its students to paint buildings within landscape settings in order to show their skills. From these exercises, Nyden developed a keen interest in painting and listed it as his chief avocation. In 1907 he won first place in the Twentieth Exhibition of the Chicago Architectural Club. His painting was a watercolor of the ruins of St. Karin's church in Visby, Sweden. Like so much else in his life, the choice of a Gothic church as his subject was not accidental. It represented the enduring strength of the Protestant faith and Nyden's own northern European roots.19
Goddard Chapel in Rose Hill Cemetery, Marion, Ill. (Courtesy of Bradley Skelcher.)
Nyden's ancestral home lay in a part of Sweden that had a strong
religious heritage. Småland and its Värend district was the site of an early Christian community in Sweden. Nyden reported that in 1882 his father renovated the church at Moheda, which was built in 1050 A.D. The experience of having been nurtured in this particular religious culture had deeply affected Nyden, and the power of religious architecture was a daily reminder of this heritage. In 1892 at Moheda, the Reverend Gösta Ydström confirmed Nyden into the State Lutheran Church. During his career, Nyden designed several churches, most of which reflected the Gothic style of northern Europe.20
Nyden completed his studies at the Art Institute in 1901, and the following year he and Ottilia were married. After their honeymoon in Sweden, the Nydens began their marriage in a modest house in Chicago. They later moved to a better one in the Edgewater neighbor­hood
as their family expanded. Their first child Adelaide was born in 1902 and their second, Valborg, in 1904. That same year Nyden completed his architectural education at the University of Illinois at Urbana. He passed the examination that allowed him to practice architecture and engineering in the state of Illinois. With his certifica­tion,
Nyden began to make his mark on the construction industry.21
Following a brief period of employment with the Barnett, Haymer and Barnett Company, he assumed the position of chief designer and planner for Arthur Heun of Chicago, serving in this capacity from 1907 to 1909. His most significant work for Heun was the design of the J. Ogden Armour estate in Lake Forest, Illinois. This structure is not typical, however, of his dominant style because of its Italian Renaissance ambience and a lack of symmetry on the side elevations. Nonetheless, it does have some features that would characterize Nyden's subsequent work, for example, its frontal symmetry. He also directed the construction of the Illinois Athletic Club and the New Southern Hotel.
In addition to being employed by Heun, Nyden also worked on his own jobs. In 1907 he opened an office on LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago and launched his career as an independent architect. He focused his efforts on the Swedish-American communi­ties
in the North Park and Edgewater neighborhoods of Chicago. In these areas he designed and constructed several buildings, apartment complexes, and residences. One was for his cousin John E. Mohlin (Nyden designed several apartment houses for members of his family as sources of income for them). He played an important role, moreover, in the building of these communities.22 Armour Estate, Lake Forest, Illinois (Courtesy of Bradley Skelcher.)
The North Park area, along with Edgewater, had attracted Swedish Americans since the 1890s. Real estate promoters first advertised the sale of lots in Chicago's Swedish-language newspa­pers.
The North Park subdivision possessed those qualities that an upwardly mobile population wanted. Nyden also took an interest in the area. It had access to the Loop via the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. Lake Michigan lay only three miles to the east. There was an air of suburban exclusiveness surrounding it. This was especially attractive to families-who wanted to escape the problems of the inner city. Its promoters also emphasized education; North Park College and Theological Seminary, founded in 1891 by the Swedish Evangeli­cal
Mission Covenant Church, was central to the advertisements. Above all, the community offered a homogenous society of Swedish Americans.23 In these neighborhoods, Nyden worked to build a community for upwardly mobile Swedish Americans. Those who had located here were devout in their religious beliefs and were pursuing their dreams. To preserve their cultural heritage, many wanted to remain separate from the rest of Chicago's growing ethnic popula­tions.
In 1908 Nyden moved his family to the Edgewater community directly northeast of North Park. Here he built his home on Wayne Avenue and was a founding member of a new congregation, the Edgewater Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church (which later became the Edgewater Mission Covenant Church). He designed the perma­nent
church building, completed in 1909.24 This was the first of Nyden's numerous charitable projects primarily for the Mission Covenant Church. Along with Strandberg Contractors and Company, Nyden donated his services in the construction of the Women's Building at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Between 1907 and 1932, his charitable works included the Colony of Mercy in Bartlett, Illinois; the Swedish Covenant Home of Mercy in Chicago; the Covenant Children's Home and its gymnasium in Princeton, Illinois; alterations on the Swedish Covenant Hospital and Home of Mercy in Chicago; the Missionary Home for the Mission Covenant Church, also in Chicago; and the Minnehaha Academy Auditorium Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota.25
Edgewater Swedish Covenant Church.
(Courtesy Covenant Archives and Historical Library.)
Nyden also took an active interest in North Park College and
Theological Seminary. He became one of its trustees and an energetic participant in the growth of this institution. In 1914 he designed several buildings as well as the landscape, that is, his "Plan for Development of the North Park College Campus." His buildings included Caroline Hall, the President's Home (now the Student Services Building), and the school's first gymnasium, which originally had a porch, a typical characteristic of Ms work. He was also the architect of the central heating plant that was completed in 1925 but only part of which remains.26
Caroline Hall, North Park College.
(Courtesy Covenant Archives and Historical Library.)
At the beginning of his practice, Nyden's own distinct style was emerging. This was a period of transition in American society as well as its political and economic systems. Transitions were also occurring in architecture. Many practitioners of this art clung to traditional styles yet also adopted modern elements, as did Nyden. Unlike other architects, however, Nyden wanted to maintain a link with the past while making the transition to modernity. This also provided security and solace for immigrants in the process of adapting from an Old World culture to a modern American idiom. In this regard, Nyden was an historic preservationist managing cultural change. This is apparent in those of his apartment and church building designs that have strong Gothic elements. His eclectic house designs have elements of the Prairie School in their low sweeping lines along with nuances of an eighteenth-century Swedish style.27
In 1917 when the United States entered World War I, Nyden had established himself as an important architect in Chicago, The following year he became a naturalized citizen of this country and joined the Army. He received a commission as a Major in the Construction Division of the Quartermaster Corps. During the war, he acted as the liaison officer between the Construction Division of the United States Army and the Surgeon-General. While in the armed services he supervised the construction of forty-two general and debarkation hospitals throughout the country. In 1923 he received a commission of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Reserves, and in 1926 the Army promoted him to Colonel.28
After the war, Nyden returned to Chicago and continued his practice. He prospered, along with the economy during the 1920s. He also became involved in several business ventures during this time. In 1919 he moved his practice to North State Street and launched a prosperous and successful period in his career. By 1921 he had the financial wherewithal to move to the wealthy suburb of Evanston. As he had done in Edgewater, Nyden contributed to the building of a community here, too. His daughter Valborg has credited him with the construction of one-third of the buildings in Evanston.29 His col­leagues
elected him Director of the A.I.A. Chicago Chapter. During 1920 and 1921 he served as Vice President of the Illinois Society of Architects. He was also Vice President of the North Shore Association of Architects.
The war, however, had brought a decided change to his life and practice. He now expanded his business activities into the sphere of banking and moved into large-scale real estate investment. The popularity of real estate bonds fueled the growth of housing construction, and the sale of Liberty Bonds during World War I had started this phenomenon. Nyden continued to design apartment buildings and residences, but he also began to design skyscrapers that revealed contemporary influences.30 In the early 1920s he founded the Admiral Hotel Company of Chicago and served as its president, and in 1922 he completed the Admiral Apartment Hotel Building. He subsequently built the Commonwealth and Melrose hotels.31 To help finance their real estate ventures many developers and builders invested in savings and loan banks, and Nyden did likewise. In 1926 he founded the Belmont—Sheffield Savings Bank of Chicago and constructed its building. He also became a member of the board of the City National Bank and Trust Company of Evanston.32
By 1926 Nyden had reached the peak of his career. He incorporat­ed
his business and turned his attention to other matters. That same year Governor Len Small appointed Nyden as State Architect of Illinois, in which capacity he served until 1927. He now supervised several state construction projects and designed the grandstand of the State Fairgrounds Stadium in Springfield (now demolished). In a letter to his daughter Valborg, he mentioned his sensing the omni­presence
of Abraham Lincoln. These experiences seemed to have impressed upon him the importance of public service and of history itself.33
Upon returning to Chicago, Nyden allotted time to scholarly activities. He studied literature, languages and fine arts; but his research on ancestry and the preservation of his Swedish heritage were dominant activities. As an avid genealogist, he wrote to people in Sweden inquiring about his forbears. This enabled him to produce a complex genealogy that traced the lineage of his own and his wife's families. Nyden also traveled to Sweden several times and remained in close contact with relatives and friends there. After his trip in 1925, he donated funds to restore the belfry of the church in Moheda. To reaffirm a link to his past, he purchased Öhrsholm, his maternal ancestral estate, in 1930.34
Nyden also became an active participant in Swedish-American historical enterprises. He was a member of the Swedish Colonial Society in Philadelphia and contributed to the planning for the tercentenary celebration of the New Sweden colony in the Delaware Valley. Along with P. A. Waller and Amandus Johnson, Nyden was a charter member of the committee organized in 1926 to raise funds for the forthcoming tercentenary. In 1938 their plans were that the celebration would culminate with the grand opening of a museum in Philadelphia. Nyden often complained about a lack of support outside of Illinois, but the committee managed nonetheless to raise sufficient funds to begin.35
Surely the highlight of Nyden's career was his commission in 1926 to design the John Morton Memorial Museum (now the American Swedish Historical Museum) in Philadelphia. Eric P. Strandberg of Chicago
wa
s the building contractor. Amandus Johnson founded the museum that same year. The intention was to honor John Morton, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and an American of Swedish descent.36 The exterior of Nyden's design strikingly illustrates his desire to preserve historical styles, in that he has deferred to the Swedish and American pasts by combining elements from both countries. The structure itself is a replica of Eriksberg, a seventeenth-century Swedish manor house in Södermanland. Its cupola is based on the one atop the City Hall in Stockholm. Integrat­ed
into the main structure's exterior sides are arcades that resemble those at George Washington's residence, Mount Vernon.37
John Morton Memorial Museum, Philadelphia.
Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and his consort Princess Louise of Sweden laid the cornerstone of the building on 2 June 1926. It was during this ceremony that the crown prince failed to acknowledge the work of Nyden, which later so upset his daughter Valborg. Nyden himself, however, did not mention the oversight; and this seems in keeping with his Swedish values—his work would stand on its own merits. This omission was somehow brought to the attention of the crown prince. To make amends, he sent his personal chief of staff Count Goran Posse and his private secretary Captain Gösta Åsbrink to visit Nyden at his home in Evanston. All the same, this inadvertent disregard for his work seems to prefigure Ms lack of recognition perhaps in the remaining years of Ms life, certainly in the period following Ms death. But Nyden was still undeterred in his efforts to preserve the heritage of his Swedish ancestors. In anticipation of the tercentenary celebration, he wrote and published The Story of Our Forefathers (1928).38 The successful phase of Ms work, however, was now a thing of the past.
Following the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Nyden suddenly retired at the age of 51. Taking into consideration the facts of Ms career to this point, it hardly seems possible that he would decide so abruptly to retire from his life's work of architectural design. At present, however, further research is needed to determine Ms financial status at the time. But it does appear that the economic crash dealt Mm a severe blow similar to numerous other real estate investors and financiers. He was forced to sell the family home in Sweden and other properties. Nyden lived for three more years apparently without doing any more work. He was stricken by a heart attack and died on 4 September 1932.39
John Augustus Nyden was a remarkable person. His biography reflects the general experience of many immigrants who came to America from an impoverished Sweden in search of a better life. Through assimilation, he made the American Dream come true, that is, by means of study and hard work, he aspired to and indeed became a leading architect in Chicago, the downward turn of events of Ms last three years notwithstanding. He also strove to maintain continuity with his Swedish heritage, thereby contributing to the preservation of historic architectural styles by way of his designs. This, too, was a notable accomplishment in a day and age when architects were by and large embracing modernity. Nyden's life story provides an example of the general upward mobility that many immigrants experienced in America. It also serves, however, to illustrate how precarious and uncertain the human condition was during the Great Depression.
NOTES
1 Valborg Nyden, "Scenes of His Childhood" (unpublished essay, undated). The John A. Nyden Collection, Swedish-American Archives of Greater Chicago, North Park College and Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois (hereafter, The Nyden Collection).
2 Valborg Nyden to Maurice Pratt Dunlap, Scottish Consul to the United States, 9 August 1938, Box 6, The Nyden Collection.
3 Valborg Nyden, "Family Recollections" (unpublished, undated), Box 7, The Nyden Collection.
4 Valborg Nyden, "Scenes of His Childhood."
5 Ibid.
6 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology" (unpublished, undated), The Nyden Collection.
7 Lars Ljungmark, Swedish Exodus, translated by Kermit B. Westerberg (Carbondale, Illinois, 1979), 7,53-55, 93.
8 Robert P. Howard, Illinois: A History of the Prairie State (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1972), 432.
9 Adolph B. Benson and Naboth Hedin, Americans from Sweden, edited by Louis Adamic (Philadelphia, 1950), 276-92.
10 Howard, Illinois, 353; Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
11 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
12 John A Nyden, "Genealogy and Family Tree," The Nyden Collection.
13 Elaine Helgeson Hasleton, "John Augustus Nyden, Swedish-American Architect," Swedish American Genealogist, 11 (1991), 55-56.
14 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology;" Alumni Record Card, Archives, Moellering Library, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana.
"Valborg Nyden, "John A Nyden Chronology;" The National Cyclopaedia of American
Biography, 24 (New York, 1935), 392-93.
16 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
"Robert Twombly, Louis Sullivan: His Life and Work (New York, 1986), 225-26. "Richard Oliver, "Cram and Goodhue," in Master Builders, edited by Diane Maddex (Washington, D.C., 1985), 114-17; H. Allen Brooks, "Frank Lloyd Wright," in Master Builders, 118-23.
19 Item 95, Box 3, The Nyden Collection. 25 Item 3, Box 1, The Nyden Collection.
21 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
22 John A. Nyden Drawings, Chicago Historical Society, Chicago, Illinois.
23 Leland H. Carlson, A History of North Park College: Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary, 1891-1941 (Chicago, 1941), 79-81, 209.
24 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
25 John A Nyden Drawings, Chicago Historical Society.
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid.
28 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology;" military records are also located at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
29 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
30Gail Radford, "New Building and Investment Patterns in 1920s Chicago," Social Science History, 16 (1992), 2-3.
31 John A. Nyden Drawings, Chicago Historical Society.
32 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
33 Report of the Directors under Civil Administrative Code, 1927 (Springfield, Illinois, 1928), 400-02, 441-42, 459-66; items 95 and 97, Box 3, John A. Nyden to Valborg Nyden, 2 September
1926
, The Nyden Collection. "Item 3, Box 1, The Nyden Collection.
35 "An Important Meeting of the Board of Governors," Swedish-American 300th Anniversary Bulletin, 1 (1927), 1; "A Letter from Colonel John A, Nyden," Swedish-Amer­ican
300th Anniversary Bulletin,2 (1928), 2; "The Biennial Meeting Report," Swedish-Amer­ican
300th Anniversary Bulletin, 2 (1928), 2-4.
"Benson and Hedin, Americans from Sweden, 278, 283, 355, 357, 408-09.
37 "Self-Guided Tour," the American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
38 John A. Nyden, The Story of Our Forefathers (Chicago, 1928).
39 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."

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ACHIEVING THE AMERICAN DREAM: THE CAREER OF JOHN AUGUSTUS NYDEN, 1895-1932
BRADLEY SKELCHER
John Augustus Nyden immigrated from Sweden to the United States in order to pursue his dream of becoming a master builder. Once in America, he succeeded far beyond Ms expectations; he became a leading architect and made many significant contributions especially to the Chicago area. In order to do this, he followed the accepted path toward upward mobility for immigrants in America at the turn of the century; he learned English and a trade. Of equal importance at this time, he conformed to traditional American values: hard work, modesty, punctuality, sobriety, frugality, and charity. Above all, he was a faithful man; he devoted his life to his family and the Church. While conforming to American standards, however, he never broke the bonds with his homeland or with his proudly maintained Swedish heritage.
Over the years, Nyden and his work have largely fallen into obscurity. This circumstance renders the perception that both were unimportant. All the same, his life and work in America were significant, because he was representative of most immigrants—and for that matter most middle-class Americans of his day. His life and work provide important clues as to the lives of "undistinguished" people who lived during the early 1900s. This article is the result of initial findings, the ultimate aim of which is a forthcoming book on the life and work of John A. Nyden.
In 1895 at the age of 16, Nyden arrived in Chicago. He came from the province of Småland, Sweden, joining thousands of others who left what then was an impoverished area. Like so many other immigrants who came to the Land of Promise, he set a course aimed at achieving the American Dream. Unlike some of his fellow immigrants, Nyden did indeed achieve his aspirations and thereby tried to set an example for others to follow. That is, by assimilation, his fellow Swedish immigrants could also attain their dreams. He believed that one could become an American and still preserve one's Swedish cultural heritage.1
Ironically, when Nyden died at the age of 54 in 1932, there were doubts as to whether he had achieved what he sought. His financial status at the time of his death is still unclear. Most likely he was then experiencing financial difficulties, as were so many others at the onset of the Great Depression. Obviously, he died without the recognition Ms family thought he deserved, as his daughter Valborg painfully testified following his death:
It is indeed quite [remarkable] how easily a man is forgotten after his death, even if he has contributed [considerably] to the world. During the whole tercentenary campaign [to commemo­rate
the first Swedish colony in America] Father's name was never mentioned, not even as the architect of the [American Swedish Historical] Museum [in Philadelphia]. So just before the big celebration, a well-known Swedish man, living near Stockholm, Sweden, wrote directly to the Crown Prince about the above.2
A bronze plaque of John Augustus Nyden in the
American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia. (Courtesy of Bradley Skelcher.)
In and of itself, the story of John A. Nyden is probably insignifi­cant.
Placed in the context of immigration history, however, his biography sheds. light on the Swedish immigrant experience in America and, in particular, Chicago. It shows how an immigrant group seeking the American Dream aspired to establish itself within American culture. Yet, its constituents also wanted to remain separated from the new setting, clinging to a familiar past. If nothing more, these people wanted to maintain cultural links with Sweden.
As an architect and developer, Nyden played a significant role in building a Swedish-American community on the north side of Chicago and in the adjacent suburbs. This part of town was similar to other neighborhoods in the city; it was highly segregated. This was nowise unusual for immigrant groups, who created ethnic enclaves for mutual support and to preserve their Old World cultures. Nyden helped to establish and nurture institutions that reinforced this kind of separation. At the same time, he encouraged his fellow Swedes to assimilate by following the accepted paths to upward mobility. For Nyden, this meant hard work, education, diligence, fidelity, and above all sobriety. To be sure, he held these values long before arriving in Chicago, and they were reflected in his strong religious beliefs.3
Nyden was bom on 25 March 1878 at Nybygget in Moheda parish, Kronobergs län, about twenty kilometers northwest of Växjö. He had three siblings, two of whom died in infancy. In 1895 he changed his name from Johan Augustus Carlsson to John Augustus Nyden. He derived his surname from his birthplace, Nybygget (his first name was also that of his brother Johan Walfred, who died in infancy). His father was Carl Gustaf Johansson and his mother, Maria Daniels­dotter
Humble. She died in 1889, leaving his maternal grandmother Maja Lisa Humble to raise him. She was responsible for his religious upbringing.4
Nyden was born into a family of craftspeople. His father was a contractor and a mason, but poor economic conditions in Sweden had forced him to work as a farm laborer. It was from his father that Nyden learned the construction trade of masonry. Little documenta­tion
of his early life remains, but Nyden did report that at the age of 12 he built a two-room house. At this time, Nyden recalled, he decided to become an architect, a choice that won his father's approval and encouragement. Nyden studied architectural plans that his father borrowed from building contractors. He also borrowed books and plans from a library in Växjö. This was the extent of his architectural background before he reached the United States. In 1895, then, Nyden made the monumental decision to leave Sweden and pursue his dream in America. Lamenting Ms son's departure, his father prophetically said to him, "I guess this will be the last time we will ever see each other, as I will not live very long." Nyden never saw Ms father again.5
That same year, Nyden arrived in Chicago via Quebec, Canada, one of the ports of entry for Swedish immigrants. Reaching his destination, he moved into his cousin John E. Mohlin's home. This was a common occurrence in the immigration experience, step or stage migration. Family members or friends often supported new immigrants in the process of transition. He also joined the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church of Lake View; churches were another important source of support for newly arrived immigrants.6
Nyden had followed a path well traveled by other Scandinavians. Between 1851 and 1930, about 1.25 million of them were Swedish immigrants. Almost 85 percent of them were 35 years old or younger. A great many of the Swedish immigrants settled within urban areas, and Chicago was the primary destination for most. By the first decade of the twentieth century more people of Swedish descent lived in Chicago than anywhere else outside of Sweden. In part, Swedish immigration to Chicago helped contribute to the city's population explosion. This in turn stimulated the needs for more housing and for people with building skills such as the ones Nyden possessed.7
During the late nineteenth century, Chicago attracted thousands of immigrants. By the end of the century its population had grown to 1,768,000. This made it the second largest city in the United States. To some extent the rapid growth of its population at this time had been a result of annexation of the immediate suburbs, but immigra­tion
had been the chief factor at work here. This dramatic increase in population spurned the growth of the construction industry, in which several Swedish Americans were participants. It emerged as a lucrative business, especially for residential builders. The Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad opened the northern areas to development, but it was not until 1909 when Daniel H. Burnham completed the Michigan Avenue Bridge that the north side began to attract businesses and residents in large numbers.8
These areas were now settled by the growing middle class, many of whom were of Swedish descent. This naturally enabled numerous skilled builders within the Swedish community to participate in the growing construction industry. Lars Gustaf Hallberg, the first of the renowned builders of Swedish descent, arrived after the Chicago Fire of 1871. He was among the first to use reinforced concrete in his structures. After Hallberg, others followed such as Nils Persson Severin, Henry and John E. Ericsson, Louis M. Nelson, Adolph Lindström, Eric P. Strandberg, and E. C. Carlson. Probably the most famous builder among these early ones was Andrew Lanquist of Lanquist & Illsley, the firm that constructed the first skyscraper in Chicago, the Monon Building.9
Along with the rapid population growth and the subsequent need for new construction, there was a demand for labor. This especially held true for bricklayers and their assistants. After the Chicago Fire of 1871, ordinances required the construction of fireproof buildings; brick structures complied with the regulations. Thus it was no accident that Nyden was first employed in America working as a bricklayer. He found a job in Winnetka, just north of Chicago. There he took part in the construction of New Trier High School. This required hours that were long and hard. Twelve-hour days were not unusual at the turn of the century for American workers.10
Upon completing his arduous workdays, Nyden nevertheless managed to continue his education along with many of his immigrant cohorts. After work, he attended classes at the Emigrants' Evening School in Chicago. Most of these sessions focused on language education. They also facilitated immigrants from rural agrarian societies to make the transition to an urban industrial one. Within three years, he completed grammar and high school and then went to Columbia Trade School, also in Chicago. Clearly, Nyden made rapid progress in adapting to his new American life."
At the Emigrants' Evening School, John met a classmate who later became his wife. Her name was Alma Ottilia Hemmingsson and she, too, was from Småland. Ottilia was born on 13 March 1874 at Löv­udden
in Kristdala parish, Kalmar län, about twenty kilometers from the port city of Oskarshamn. Her parents were Sven Peter Hem­mingsson
and Kajsa Lisa Carlsdotter. Sven Peter served as nämdeman (assessor) of the Ishult Courthouse for fifteen years. He then became supervisor of public works in the district. He also served as a trustee of the Kristdala church. Her mother was a descendant of the noble families Bagge af Berga and Sabelsköld. She also traced her lineage to the Meurling family of clergymen.12 Arriving in America the same year as Nyden, Ottilia joined her sister Hilda in Chicago. Like many other Swedish immigrant women, Ottilia found work as a seamstress. 57 percent of Swedish immigrant women were domestics, while the others were generally seamstresses. After this Job, she took a position as both governess and dressmaker. Her evenings were spent attend­ing
language classes, where she met Nyden, her husband-to-be.13
Following the completion of his basic education in 1898, Nyden attended Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute in Valparaiso, Indiana (the forerunner of Valparaiso University). He enrolled in the Preparatory Department, which offered ten-week terms. Records of his studies there are scant, but they do show that he attended three such terms, that is, until 1899. The curriculum consisted of preparatory classes similar to a community college's offerings today. There was heavy emphasis on English. He did not neglect, however, the study of architecture. Apparently, Nyden required additional preparation beyond the high-school level before enrolling in regular college courses.14
After completing his studies at Valparaiso, Nyden began pursuing a career in the construction industry. He took a position with the George A. Fuller Company, a contracting firm in New York City. It appears that he worked as a drafter. Because of Ms short stay, this was most likely an apprenticeship and part of his practical training. This was commonplace for individuals entering the professions of construction engineering and architecture at the time. He stayed there for only a year before permanently relocating in Chicago.15 Nyden now matriculated at the school of the Art Institute of Chicago, expressly to study architecture. He worked simultaneously as the chief drafter for the Northwestern Terra Cotta Company, a job he held for six years. At this time, the preeminent architects in Chicago were also associated with the Art Institute. Nyden's experiences under their tutelage influenced his own building style, a revival of the Gothic one, but placed in a contemporary context.16
Most influential in the 1890s was Louis Sullivan, who developed the Chicago style of architecture, much of which had roots in the École, taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where Sullivan had studied. Once in Chicago, he combined it with Classical and Gothic traditions. Sullivan maintained that he was merging the intellectual driving force of the Classical tradition with the emotional strength of its Gothic counterpart. In combining them, he infused a dynamic motion into his skyscrapers.17 Ralph Adams Cram of the firm Cram and Goodhue was also influential. He considered the Gothic tradition of northern Europe to constitute the most important style and set out on a mission to revive it in American architecture. He apparently succeeded in accomplishing this mission, especially on the north side of Chicago and in the adjacent suburbs. Frank Lloyd Wright agreed with Cram. He spent long hours at the Art Institute lecturing on the use of the Gothic style. For Wright, it was truly organic architecture.18
The standard architectural education at the Art Institute also emphasized drawing skills, stressing proficiency in the use of pencil, pen, and brush. The school required its students to paint buildings within landscape settings in order to show their skills. From these exercises, Nyden developed a keen interest in painting and listed it as his chief avocation. In 1907 he won first place in the Twentieth Exhibition of the Chicago Architectural Club. His painting was a watercolor of the ruins of St. Karin's church in Visby, Sweden. Like so much else in his life, the choice of a Gothic church as his subject was not accidental. It represented the enduring strength of the Protestant faith and Nyden's own northern European roots.19
Goddard Chapel in Rose Hill Cemetery, Marion, Ill. (Courtesy of Bradley Skelcher.)
Nyden's ancestral home lay in a part of Sweden that had a strong
religious heritage. Småland and its Värend district was the site of an early Christian community in Sweden. Nyden reported that in 1882 his father renovated the church at Moheda, which was built in 1050 A.D. The experience of having been nurtured in this particular religious culture had deeply affected Nyden, and the power of religious architecture was a daily reminder of this heritage. In 1892 at Moheda, the Reverend Gösta Ydström confirmed Nyden into the State Lutheran Church. During his career, Nyden designed several churches, most of which reflected the Gothic style of northern Europe.20
Nyden completed his studies at the Art Institute in 1901, and the following year he and Ottilia were married. After their honeymoon in Sweden, the Nydens began their marriage in a modest house in Chicago. They later moved to a better one in the Edgewater neighbor­hood
as their family expanded. Their first child Adelaide was born in 1902 and their second, Valborg, in 1904. That same year Nyden completed his architectural education at the University of Illinois at Urbana. He passed the examination that allowed him to practice architecture and engineering in the state of Illinois. With his certifica­tion,
Nyden began to make his mark on the construction industry.21
Following a brief period of employment with the Barnett, Haymer and Barnett Company, he assumed the position of chief designer and planner for Arthur Heun of Chicago, serving in this capacity from 1907 to 1909. His most significant work for Heun was the design of the J. Ogden Armour estate in Lake Forest, Illinois. This structure is not typical, however, of his dominant style because of its Italian Renaissance ambience and a lack of symmetry on the side elevations. Nonetheless, it does have some features that would characterize Nyden's subsequent work, for example, its frontal symmetry. He also directed the construction of the Illinois Athletic Club and the New Southern Hotel.
In addition to being employed by Heun, Nyden also worked on his own jobs. In 1907 he opened an office on LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago and launched his career as an independent architect. He focused his efforts on the Swedish-American communi­ties
in the North Park and Edgewater neighborhoods of Chicago. In these areas he designed and constructed several buildings, apartment complexes, and residences. One was for his cousin John E. Mohlin (Nyden designed several apartment houses for members of his family as sources of income for them). He played an important role, moreover, in the building of these communities.22 Armour Estate, Lake Forest, Illinois (Courtesy of Bradley Skelcher.)
The North Park area, along with Edgewater, had attracted Swedish Americans since the 1890s. Real estate promoters first advertised the sale of lots in Chicago's Swedish-language newspa­pers.
The North Park subdivision possessed those qualities that an upwardly mobile population wanted. Nyden also took an interest in the area. It had access to the Loop via the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. Lake Michigan lay only three miles to the east. There was an air of suburban exclusiveness surrounding it. This was especially attractive to families-who wanted to escape the problems of the inner city. Its promoters also emphasized education; North Park College and Theological Seminary, founded in 1891 by the Swedish Evangeli­cal
Mission Covenant Church, was central to the advertisements. Above all, the community offered a homogenous society of Swedish Americans.23 In these neighborhoods, Nyden worked to build a community for upwardly mobile Swedish Americans. Those who had located here were devout in their religious beliefs and were pursuing their dreams. To preserve their cultural heritage, many wanted to remain separate from the rest of Chicago's growing ethnic popula­tions.
In 1908 Nyden moved his family to the Edgewater community directly northeast of North Park. Here he built his home on Wayne Avenue and was a founding member of a new congregation, the Edgewater Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church (which later became the Edgewater Mission Covenant Church). He designed the perma­nent
church building, completed in 1909.24 This was the first of Nyden's numerous charitable projects primarily for the Mission Covenant Church. Along with Strandberg Contractors and Company, Nyden donated his services in the construction of the Women's Building at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Between 1907 and 1932, his charitable works included the Colony of Mercy in Bartlett, Illinois; the Swedish Covenant Home of Mercy in Chicago; the Covenant Children's Home and its gymnasium in Princeton, Illinois; alterations on the Swedish Covenant Hospital and Home of Mercy in Chicago; the Missionary Home for the Mission Covenant Church, also in Chicago; and the Minnehaha Academy Auditorium Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota.25
Edgewater Swedish Covenant Church.
(Courtesy Covenant Archives and Historical Library.)
Nyden also took an active interest in North Park College and
Theological Seminary. He became one of its trustees and an energetic participant in the growth of this institution. In 1914 he designed several buildings as well as the landscape, that is, his "Plan for Development of the North Park College Campus." His buildings included Caroline Hall, the President's Home (now the Student Services Building), and the school's first gymnasium, which originally had a porch, a typical characteristic of Ms work. He was also the architect of the central heating plant that was completed in 1925 but only part of which remains.26
Caroline Hall, North Park College.
(Courtesy Covenant Archives and Historical Library.)
At the beginning of his practice, Nyden's own distinct style was emerging. This was a period of transition in American society as well as its political and economic systems. Transitions were also occurring in architecture. Many practitioners of this art clung to traditional styles yet also adopted modern elements, as did Nyden. Unlike other architects, however, Nyden wanted to maintain a link with the past while making the transition to modernity. This also provided security and solace for immigrants in the process of adapting from an Old World culture to a modern American idiom. In this regard, Nyden was an historic preservationist managing cultural change. This is apparent in those of his apartment and church building designs that have strong Gothic elements. His eclectic house designs have elements of the Prairie School in their low sweeping lines along with nuances of an eighteenth-century Swedish style.27
In 1917 when the United States entered World War I, Nyden had established himself as an important architect in Chicago, The following year he became a naturalized citizen of this country and joined the Army. He received a commission as a Major in the Construction Division of the Quartermaster Corps. During the war, he acted as the liaison officer between the Construction Division of the United States Army and the Surgeon-General. While in the armed services he supervised the construction of forty-two general and debarkation hospitals throughout the country. In 1923 he received a commission of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Reserves, and in 1926 the Army promoted him to Colonel.28
After the war, Nyden returned to Chicago and continued his practice. He prospered, along with the economy during the 1920s. He also became involved in several business ventures during this time. In 1919 he moved his practice to North State Street and launched a prosperous and successful period in his career. By 1921 he had the financial wherewithal to move to the wealthy suburb of Evanston. As he had done in Edgewater, Nyden contributed to the building of a community here, too. His daughter Valborg has credited him with the construction of one-third of the buildings in Evanston.29 His col­leagues
elected him Director of the A.I.A. Chicago Chapter. During 1920 and 1921 he served as Vice President of the Illinois Society of Architects. He was also Vice President of the North Shore Association of Architects.
The war, however, had brought a decided change to his life and practice. He now expanded his business activities into the sphere of banking and moved into large-scale real estate investment. The popularity of real estate bonds fueled the growth of housing construction, and the sale of Liberty Bonds during World War I had started this phenomenon. Nyden continued to design apartment buildings and residences, but he also began to design skyscrapers that revealed contemporary influences.30 In the early 1920s he founded the Admiral Hotel Company of Chicago and served as its president, and in 1922 he completed the Admiral Apartment Hotel Building. He subsequently built the Commonwealth and Melrose hotels.31 To help finance their real estate ventures many developers and builders invested in savings and loan banks, and Nyden did likewise. In 1926 he founded the Belmont—Sheffield Savings Bank of Chicago and constructed its building. He also became a member of the board of the City National Bank and Trust Company of Evanston.32
By 1926 Nyden had reached the peak of his career. He incorporat­ed
his business and turned his attention to other matters. That same year Governor Len Small appointed Nyden as State Architect of Illinois, in which capacity he served until 1927. He now supervised several state construction projects and designed the grandstand of the State Fairgrounds Stadium in Springfield (now demolished). In a letter to his daughter Valborg, he mentioned his sensing the omni­presence
of Abraham Lincoln. These experiences seemed to have impressed upon him the importance of public service and of history itself.33
Upon returning to Chicago, Nyden allotted time to scholarly activities. He studied literature, languages and fine arts; but his research on ancestry and the preservation of his Swedish heritage were dominant activities. As an avid genealogist, he wrote to people in Sweden inquiring about his forbears. This enabled him to produce a complex genealogy that traced the lineage of his own and his wife's families. Nyden also traveled to Sweden several times and remained in close contact with relatives and friends there. After his trip in 1925, he donated funds to restore the belfry of the church in Moheda. To reaffirm a link to his past, he purchased Öhrsholm, his maternal ancestral estate, in 1930.34
Nyden also became an active participant in Swedish-American historical enterprises. He was a member of the Swedish Colonial Society in Philadelphia and contributed to the planning for the tercentenary celebration of the New Sweden colony in the Delaware Valley. Along with P. A. Waller and Amandus Johnson, Nyden was a charter member of the committee organized in 1926 to raise funds for the forthcoming tercentenary. In 1938 their plans were that the celebration would culminate with the grand opening of a museum in Philadelphia. Nyden often complained about a lack of support outside of Illinois, but the committee managed nonetheless to raise sufficient funds to begin.35
Surely the highlight of Nyden's career was his commission in 1926 to design the John Morton Memorial Museum (now the American Swedish Historical Museum) in Philadelphia. Eric P. Strandberg of Chicago
wa
s the building contractor. Amandus Johnson founded the museum that same year. The intention was to honor John Morton, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and an American of Swedish descent.36 The exterior of Nyden's design strikingly illustrates his desire to preserve historical styles, in that he has deferred to the Swedish and American pasts by combining elements from both countries. The structure itself is a replica of Eriksberg, a seventeenth-century Swedish manor house in Södermanland. Its cupola is based on the one atop the City Hall in Stockholm. Integrat­ed
into the main structure's exterior sides are arcades that resemble those at George Washington's residence, Mount Vernon.37
John Morton Memorial Museum, Philadelphia.
Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and his consort Princess Louise of Sweden laid the cornerstone of the building on 2 June 1926. It was during this ceremony that the crown prince failed to acknowledge the work of Nyden, which later so upset his daughter Valborg. Nyden himself, however, did not mention the oversight; and this seems in keeping with his Swedish values—his work would stand on its own merits. This omission was somehow brought to the attention of the crown prince. To make amends, he sent his personal chief of staff Count Goran Posse and his private secretary Captain Gösta Åsbrink to visit Nyden at his home in Evanston. All the same, this inadvertent disregard for his work seems to prefigure Ms lack of recognition perhaps in the remaining years of Ms life, certainly in the period following Ms death. But Nyden was still undeterred in his efforts to preserve the heritage of his Swedish ancestors. In anticipation of the tercentenary celebration, he wrote and published The Story of Our Forefathers (1928).38 The successful phase of Ms work, however, was now a thing of the past.
Following the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Nyden suddenly retired at the age of 51. Taking into consideration the facts of Ms career to this point, it hardly seems possible that he would decide so abruptly to retire from his life's work of architectural design. At present, however, further research is needed to determine Ms financial status at the time. But it does appear that the economic crash dealt Mm a severe blow similar to numerous other real estate investors and financiers. He was forced to sell the family home in Sweden and other properties. Nyden lived for three more years apparently without doing any more work. He was stricken by a heart attack and died on 4 September 1932.39
John Augustus Nyden was a remarkable person. His biography reflects the general experience of many immigrants who came to America from an impoverished Sweden in search of a better life. Through assimilation, he made the American Dream come true, that is, by means of study and hard work, he aspired to and indeed became a leading architect in Chicago, the downward turn of events of Ms last three years notwithstanding. He also strove to maintain continuity with his Swedish heritage, thereby contributing to the preservation of historic architectural styles by way of his designs. This, too, was a notable accomplishment in a day and age when architects were by and large embracing modernity. Nyden's life story provides an example of the general upward mobility that many immigrants experienced in America. It also serves, however, to illustrate how precarious and uncertain the human condition was during the Great Depression.
NOTES
1 Valborg Nyden, "Scenes of His Childhood" (unpublished essay, undated). The John A. Nyden Collection, Swedish-American Archives of Greater Chicago, North Park College and Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois (hereafter, The Nyden Collection).
2 Valborg Nyden to Maurice Pratt Dunlap, Scottish Consul to the United States, 9 August 1938, Box 6, The Nyden Collection.
3 Valborg Nyden, "Family Recollections" (unpublished, undated), Box 7, The Nyden Collection.
4 Valborg Nyden, "Scenes of His Childhood."
5 Ibid.
6 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology" (unpublished, undated), The Nyden Collection.
7 Lars Ljungmark, Swedish Exodus, translated by Kermit B. Westerberg (Carbondale, Illinois, 1979), 7,53-55, 93.
8 Robert P. Howard, Illinois: A History of the Prairie State (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1972), 432.
9 Adolph B. Benson and Naboth Hedin, Americans from Sweden, edited by Louis Adamic (Philadelphia, 1950), 276-92.
10 Howard, Illinois, 353; Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
11 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
12 John A Nyden, "Genealogy and Family Tree," The Nyden Collection.
13 Elaine Helgeson Hasleton, "John Augustus Nyden, Swedish-American Architect," Swedish American Genealogist, 11 (1991), 55-56.
14 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology;" Alumni Record Card, Archives, Moellering Library, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana.
"Valborg Nyden, "John A Nyden Chronology;" The National Cyclopaedia of American
Biography, 24 (New York, 1935), 392-93.
16 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
"Robert Twombly, Louis Sullivan: His Life and Work (New York, 1986), 225-26. "Richard Oliver, "Cram and Goodhue," in Master Builders, edited by Diane Maddex (Washington, D.C., 1985), 114-17; H. Allen Brooks, "Frank Lloyd Wright," in Master Builders, 118-23.
19 Item 95, Box 3, The Nyden Collection. 25 Item 3, Box 1, The Nyden Collection.
21 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
22 John A. Nyden Drawings, Chicago Historical Society, Chicago, Illinois.
23 Leland H. Carlson, A History of North Park College: Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary, 1891-1941 (Chicago, 1941), 79-81, 209.
24 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
25 John A Nyden Drawings, Chicago Historical Society.
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid.
28 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology;" military records are also located at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
29 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
30Gail Radford, "New Building and Investment Patterns in 1920s Chicago," Social Science History, 16 (1992), 2-3.
31 John A. Nyden Drawings, Chicago Historical Society.
32 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."
33 Report of the Directors under Civil Administrative Code, 1927 (Springfield, Illinois, 1928), 400-02, 441-42, 459-66; items 95 and 97, Box 3, John A. Nyden to Valborg Nyden, 2 September
1926
, The Nyden Collection. "Item 3, Box 1, The Nyden Collection.
35 "An Important Meeting of the Board of Governors," Swedish-American 300th Anniversary Bulletin, 1 (1927), 1; "A Letter from Colonel John A, Nyden," Swedish-Amer­ican
300th Anniversary Bulletin,2 (1928), 2; "The Biennial Meeting Report," Swedish-Amer­ican
300th Anniversary Bulletin, 2 (1928), 2-4.
"Benson and Hedin, Americans from Sweden, 278, 283, 355, 357, 408-09.
37 "Self-Guided Tour," the American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
38 John A. Nyden, The Story of Our Forefathers (Chicago, 1928).
39 Valborg Nyden, "John A. Nyden Chronology."